Seals and Curses
by azazemon
Summary: The Shinobi must band together to stop a man who threatens their existence. Please Read & Review!
1. Chapter 1

_**Encounter**_

Team Kakashi and Team Asuma were returning from a mission when they heard shouts. They stopped and went to go check it out. They came upon the scene of a small battle between a hooded figure holding a white sword, fending four attackers dressed in black. They attacked in a wolvish fashion, first surrounding him, then trying to attack on his blind spots. The guy they were attacking was much faster than they were, side-stepping an attacker to his left, then slamming him to the ground with the large white sword. Everyone flinched, it looked painful. One of the attackers casted something and shot a ball of fire at him. The guy tapped his sword and held his hand out in front of him. The fireball hit what looked like an invisible wall and dispersed. The guy pulled out another sword, a large, blood red one. He sheathed the white sword and held the red one in front of him; it had a black tint. Another one attacked; he sliced it in half so fast his body didn't separate until he landed. The other two attacked simultaneously. The guy stroked the sword with two fingers, then did a 180 slash. A wave of red lightning leaped from the sword and blasted the two attackers back. They hit the tree where they sizzled, giving a death rattle. He sheathed the sword and continued down the path. It wasn't until Naruto landed on the ground that he unsheathed the red one and readied himself for attack.

"Wait! I'm not here to fight you!" Naruto said quickly putting his hands in front of him.

"Then what are you here for?" He asked, still not putting down the sword.

"I just wanted to know if you were O.K." Naruto said.

"I'm fine." He said now lowering his guard.

"Those are interesting swords you got there."

"Yeah...they're interesting." he answered, a hint of depression in his voice.

"So what brings you this way? Who were those guys?"

"To answer both questions at once; I'm looking for someone, and they were trying to stop me."

"Who were you looking for?"

"Naruto, you're so nosy!" Sakura whispered.

"Either way, he's getting information from this guy." Kakashi whispered back.

"It's no one really."

"Apparently they are if you're going through this much trouble to find them. Is it a girl?"

He hesitated, "My sister."

"Oh. What happened to her?"

"She was kidnapped."

"By who?"

"Someone you wouldn't know."

"Anyway we could help?"

"We?"

"Yeah, my friends are all there in that tree."

Everyone groaned.

"Leave it to Naruto to blow our cover." Ino said.

He looked towards the tree as everyone jumped out.

Sakura and Ino both hit Naruto on the head,"Way to go idiot!"

"So, what's your name?" Shikamaru asked.

"Junsei; but to answer his question, I don't think there's anything any of you can do to help."

"Why not?" Choji asked.

"Because the man I'm after isn't your average man."

"Believe me, we've run into quite a bit of men like that." Kakashi said.

"Still, I don't see where ninja will come in handy on this trip." Junsei said.

"You'll find ninja can be handy in many situations." Kakashi said.

"Is that so?" Junsei said unsheathing the white sword. Kakashi noticed the five kanji in a perfect line going down the blade. "Care to put that claim to the test?"

"Sure, I'll take you on!" Naruto said.

"Alright, let's see what you're made of."

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Five more Naruto appeared, taking Junsei by surprise. They all jumped into the air, preparing to reign down their wrath. Junsei tapped his sword with two fingers, the first Kanji.

"Seal of Protection!"

The Narutos all ran into an invisible wall. Junsei pushed his hands outward, sending them flying back. In the blink of an eye he now held the red sword. He stroked the sword and jumped into the air.

"Curse of Retribution!"

With blinding speed he was able to destroy the Naruto clones, not once hitting Naruto. Naruto made one more clone, and readied himself for Rasengan. Junsei landed and put his sword away. Holding his right arm with his left, his right arm became covered in a white aura. At full power they both charged and clashed. Their abilities canceled out, sending both boys flying back, knocking Junsei's hood off. Junsei quickly rose and charged at Naruto, his arm coated in the white aura again. He landed his punch on Naruto's chest, but didn't send him flying; instead he ended up lifting a stunned Naruto by his collar with one hand, the slammed him into the ground, making a small crater. He turned around to walk away. Naruto jumped out the crater and rammed him into a tree. Junsei jumped off the tree and rammed Naruto in the chest. He grabbed him by the collar again and dragged him through the dirt and right into a tree across the way.

"Man, this guy's tough." Ino said.

Naruto rose and looked Junsei straight in the eye. His eyes were a pale gold, and he had long black hair. Naruto got out his kunai, and this time Junsei pulled out both swords; the white in his left and the red in his right.

"Time to end this!"

He twisted both swords and held them in front of him like a cross, closing his eyes. He stayed like this for a moment, and Naruto, impatient, charged. When he was close enough Junsei opened his eyes and vanished, reappearing behind Naruto. With the white sword he knocked Naruto into the air. From there he used the red sword to slash Naruto from every direction before delivering the final, double blow, sending him crashing back into the ground. After a few seconds, Naruto feebly rose from the new crater formed from this new move.

"Heh, you're tough; let's fix that."

Junsei knocked him in the air again, this time knocking him higer, all the while slashing at him. He appeared in above Naruto and stroked the red sword again, this time a spark of red was seen coming from his fingers.

"Curse of Pain!"

He slashed the air as a crimson ark smashed into Naruto, sending him once again sailing to the ground. Junsei wasn't done, this lifting the sword above his head, it glowed red, then, surging with power, he pointed at Naruto and yelled,"Improved Curse of Pain: Mark of Suffering!"

A blast of energy shot from the sword and hit Naruto point blank, causing an explosion that sent everyone flying back.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Journey_**

Naruto tried to get up, but his body felt like it was on fire. Junsei landed and looked at him as he sizzled in the crater, his eyes shut tight in pain. He knelt down beside him, tapped the third kankji on the sword, and put his hand on Naruto's chest. Green lights leaped from his hands and traveled in and out Naruto's body, quickly healing the wounds. Naruto's eyes shot open in realization that his wounds didn't hurt. He got up as Junsei jumped out the crater and took one last look at him.

"What did you do?" Naruto asked checking his now perfectly healed wounds.

"I think it's pretty obvious that I healed you." Junsei laughed.

"How'd you do that?"

Junsei held up his sword so that the Kanji were visible,"Each Kanji on this sword is a seal. From top to bottom it goes: Seal of Protection, Seal of Purifying Light, Seal of Rejuvination, Seal of the Soul, and Seal of Harmonious Defense."

"What about your red sword?" Kakashi asked.

"Oh, those are curses, meant to be the opposite of the Sword of Seals. The curses are just the opposite of the seals, only there are more versions of them then one."

"Where did you acquire swords like these?"

"Inheritance." Junsei said. He sounded distant when he said that,"But like I was saying, I don't think you guys can help me on this little journey."

"You don't know that for certain." Sakura said.

"Why don't you come back with us to the village. I'm sure the Fifth can help you out." Kakashi said. In his mind he wanted to know more about this boy, and those swords.

Junsei considered this for a moment, and with a happy smile replied,"Alright."

"So where do you come from?" Ino asked.

"A place that doesn't exist anymore." He replied darkly.

"Why's that?" Naruto asked.

Sakura gave Naruto a look, and he understood what she meant.

"So, who is it that kidnapped your sister, and why?" Yamato asked.

"A man who calls himself 'The Dark Priest.'"

"That's a stupid name." Shikamaru said.

"You wouldn't say that if you knew who he truly was."

"Who was he."

"He's a man of many infamous travesties in my mind. He's a warlord, controlling what would appear to be a limitless army. He wants to call himself a god, but lacks his own power to do so. To make up for that, he hunts down relics of great power; I possess two," he said pointing towards the swords on his back,"One of his main goals involve your kind: The elimination of those that would oppose his new religion."

"Why do we oppose it?" Sai asked.

"Because his religion in the area he rules outlaws any kind of training, be it combat or just for the physical benefit. To promote his 'religion', he makes examples out of towns and villages that have formidable foes. Warriors, Shinobi, Magic users, all those who practice any form of combat are seen as threats to his 'divine plan.'"

"So where does your sister come in with his plan?" Kakashi asked.

"I don't know, but I won't let her become a part of it."

"Do you know if she's still alive?" Shikamaru asked.

"Not really, but I know he's keeping her in good health. When he captured her, his men were trying to do it without really hurting her. I know she's the key to something in his plan, but I don't know what."

"So why did his men attack you?" Sakura asked. She knew it sounded redundant, but she felt it was more to it than just him trying to stop him.

"He sends them after me for three reasons: I'm a warrior, so I threaten his religion; I hold two objects of great power that he wants; and of course to weed out any and all resistance, starting with the most threatening. He's always moving though, so I do too."

"Why? I figure with all those troops he'd stay in one place." Shikamaru said.

"No, my older brother hunts him too. If there's one person in this world he fears, it's him."

"Why him?"

"In my culture, the first born is the one who must lead when the father has passed away. When they're young they're introduced to violence through hunts, competition, and daily blunders. I'm a second born, so I would be second in command if he were to die, or was unable to lead; however second borns are only educated in ways of combat; we have to use tactics when we fight. My sister is a third born, but she is a female. Women aren't allowed to fight where I come from, we consider them way too sacred to be tainted by battle."

"So what happens to the women?" Ino asked.

"Isn't that you're village right there?" Junsei asked quickly changing the subject. True enough they came upon Konoha, the discussion about his culture would have to wait another day. Junsei sat outside while they went in to explain the situation to Tsunade. She wanted to speak to him in person and called him in.

"Um, hello Ms." He said with a polite bow.

"You're a polite one aren't you? Good to see that in today's youth." She said, an obvious shot some of the other young ninja in front of her,"Anyway, do you know where this man might be keeping your sister?"

"I don't know where he stays, but I know the route he travels to keep his main fortress mobile."

"You're sure of this?"

"About 110."

"Very well. Naruto, Sakura, Sai, Ino, Choji, you will all accompany him and bring this man down. Shikamaru, go get Neji and Lee, you as well as them will also be joining him. Now go!"

As everyone left to go and get ready, Junsei headed towards the main gate and waited there. As he stood there his thoughts were consumed with the well-being of his sister. He looked out towards the forest, eager to hurry out to find her. He turned back towards the village to see a guy with a black hair and a green jumpsuit running up to him, a big smile on his face.

"Hi! My name is Rock Lee! It is very nice to meet you!" He said with a smile, holding out his hand for him to shake.

"I'm Junsei. It's nice to meet you too Rock Lee." Junsei said shaking his hand, returning the smile.

Soon after Lee showed up Neji came, then the other six arrived together. They headed out, at first stopping to wonder if Junsei would be able to keep up.

"I'll do more than keep up." He grinned.

With a twitch of his heel he dashed off, a cloud of dust trailing behind him. At first stunned everyone snapped out of it and took to the trees to catch up with him. They traveled for a couple of hours, not stopping once for a break. Night fell as they traveled through the forest, and Junsei slowed down and stopped.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked.

"We need to find a cave or something, Now!" he said running for a wall. He unsheathed the red sword and stroked it with three fingers, "Curse of Retribution: Vengeance Strike!"

With a swipe of his sword a giant hole appeared in the wall. Neji and Rock Lee gaped at what they just saw.

"Hurry inside!" he yelled.

No sooner had they all entered the cave did they hear the flapping of wings. The forest floor, that was illuminated with moonlight, now seemed to flicker and at times disappear.

"What's going on?" Neji whispered.

"We're close...those are his creatures. They're called the Locust Swarm." Junsei whispered.

"What are they?"

"Think of them as carnivorous insects. They're naturally blind, but have incredible hearing, but only to loud noises. If we whisper like this, then they won't find us. We also need to start a fire."

"Why? I thought we were trying to stay hidden." Ino said.

"Well they're not really _that _blind, but their eyesight is incredibly sensitive. The light of a fire is more than enough to keep them out. We can't go out yet until the morning, so just whisper and try to stay quiet; they'll be out like this for a long time."


	3. Chapter 3

_**Angelic History**_

Quietly, they were able to gather firewood and start a fire in the cave, effectively keeping back the locust.

"So Junsei, wanna give us more info on where you come from? I'd really like to know." Ino smiled.

"Not much to say, in my opinion." Junsei said.

"What about your sister?" Sakura asked.

"She's...shy, but she's not a push over. She'll try to fight if she needs to, or disorientate them long enough for her to run away."

"What about those swords? Can you tell us some things about that?" Neji asked.

"Well, it requires internal training to wield."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"Example: when I wield the Sword of Seals, I can't have a single thought about harm or destruction in my mind; when I wield the Sword of Curses, my one desire must be to cause them as much harm as physically possible; when I wield both, I must remain indifferent, no thoughts whatsoever, only the instinct that comes from years of training."

"Why?"

"Coursing through the swords are either negative or positive energy, evil and good in their purest form. Energy of the good isn't meant to bring harm, but to protect, whereas evil energy hungers for suffering. Having both at the same time cancels them out, and leaves you in a state of mental limbo."

"What would happen if you thought a good thought with the Sword of Curses?" Shikamaru asked.

"The sword would reject and destroy you."

"Then why do you have them? I mean besides the fact that you can control them, isn't it dangerous to have them with you like this?" Sakura asked.

"If I didn't take them, he would've. I didn't really have time to consider the long-term consequences of taking them."

"Why?"

Junsei didn't answer, he merely looked out the cave at the locust, many of whom were aware of their presence and seemed to hover by the entrance inches from the glow of the fire.

"It's hard to help people if they don't let us you know." Neji said.

"It's hard to trust people nowadays. He has spies everywhere! I don't even know if you all are spies or not!" Junsei yelled.

"If we were, don't you think we would've turned you in already?" Shikamaru asked.

Junsei thought about the truth in that statement, but still remained suspicious.

"Listen Junsei, we all said we would help you get your sister and stop this guy. He threatens our existence as well so there'd be no point in turning on you if he'd kill us when he got the chance right? C'mon, if we're gonna do this then we need you to trust us." Sakura said.

Junsei sighed, then plopped on the ground.

"My people were known as Keepers. Our whole civilization was built on protecting many secrets, be them words, oracles, artifacts and objects of power, we were charged with protecting them. Our village circled a large temple where we kept them, and guarded them with our very existence. My family was the head of the village, so we were the ones looked at the most and judged. We had to be perfect, anything else the people saw as disgraceful. In our village there is a strict law that first-born males will inherit all responsibilities of their fathers when they come of age. Second born males are second in command, third born males, third, and so forth. Because the women of our kind were closer to nature and the supernatural energies that surrounded us, they became priestess, and we saw them as more sacred than us. My village was ruled by women with power, which didn't really mix well. But, my older brother and I didn't really agree with how their laws and customs robbed us of our own free will. Our voices rang hollow, and on deaf ears. My brother, in his anger and spite of the leaders, became the strongest warrior in the village, I became second strongest. The village was proud, but feared us at the same time. It gets worse."

"What happened?" Naruto asked.

"We're holy in many ways. We believe in Angels, and have made numerous contacts with them. Often, there are people who are treated unfairly and isolated because of what others like you would call a blessing."

"What is it?"

"In my village, there were two people who possessed something that the other villagers found repulsive...black wings."

"What?" They all said in unison.

"I knew one...he was by best friend, Akuba. When he found out about his wings, he was torn with grief and anger. His family began to reject him, as did the rest of society. I was the only person who still remained his friend, and tried to help him through his hardship. Eventually though, his anger and grief proved too much for him to bear and left the village. What was bad about it was that deserters were to be killed on sight. Black winged angels can be very destructive, and I remember finding his note and running towards the gates to see it and part of that village in flames. I looked at him, and he looked back at me. There was insanity in his eyes as he gave me one final look. He turned around, his wings spread, and disappeared as the flames rose. I never saw him again, and I blame myself for not being strong enough to help him through that."

"What about the other one?" Choji asked.

Junsei now looked away, his eyes closed. Their eyes grew wide as they saw black wings appear out his back.

"But, how did you-" Naruto began.

"I don't know, it happened a week after Akuba left. I just woke up and saw them. My brother and sister did too, and did their best to keep others from finding out, but it eventually found its way outside. The elders thought that I'd do what Akuba did, and demanded that I'd be imprisoned, saying that I've shamed the village as an abomination. My father came to my defense, saying that until I show signs of insanity that I shouldn't be judged so quickly. He was in his power to order it, so I guess I got lucky right there. A few days later, he attacked the village. I remember that day, waking up to see smoke in the sky, running to the window to see fire raining down. He brought and army to decimate the village. My family had already left to perform their duties, my father and brother to hold them off while my sister and mother went with the other priestess to collect the runes. When I arrived at the temple the enemy was already there, desecrating and destroying it. Black winged angels can be very destructive, and I cleared the temple out quickly. I found my mother near death leaning against a wall. When she looked up and saw me she smiled and told me she's happy I came. She told me where the find the swords and how to wield them. She also said that my sister was captured, my father was dead, and big brother went after the man who kidnapped my sister. When I retrieved the swords, I went back to my mother to see if I could save her in any way...but I was too late to help...again. Before he destroyed the temple I took to the skies and used the smoke as a cover, a piece of cloth over my mouth to keep from breathing it in, but I couldn't stop the burning of my eyes. After a few moments the smoke got through, filled my lungs, and I passed out in the sky. I find it amazing I survived the crash. But when I woke back up, and remembered what had happened, I took tot he skies again. What I didn't count on were the troops sent out to find me. My bet is that someone tipped them off about my black wings and they almost shot me down, so I stuck to the ground. But since then I've been tracking him, and my brother, hoping that I'll run into one."

"So he wiped out your people?" Ino asked.

"Not all. Some survived and retreated to an ally village. I'll take you there after we rescue her."


	4. Chapter 4

**_Stalling  
_**

The next morning they wasted no time heading out. The new dangers of nightfall meant that they'd have to travel twice as fast during the day. After a few falls Junsei was able to keep up jumping through the trees with them. Neji started to feel uneasy and turned on his Byakugan to make sure nothing hostile was around them.

"Naruto watch out!"

Junsei tackled Naruto out of the air after Neji yelled that as shuriken sailed through the empty space Naruto just occupied. As they landed Neji threw a kunai into the woods. An audible 'clank' could be heard as a sword deflected it.

"Come out Sasuke!" Neji yelled.

Everyone's eyes went wide as Sasuke and the other members of Hawk, Suigetsu, Jugo and Karin also appeared.

"Sasuke...what are you doing here?" Sakura asked.

"We've come for Naruto." Sasuke said.

"Well you can't have him." Junsei told him.

"And you're going to stop me?" Sasuke asked mockingly.

"You say it like it's not going to happen." Junsei replied sarcastically.

"I don't like your attitude." Suigetsu said.

"And I just don't like you."

"Whatever your mood is, I'm still taking Naruto." Sasuke said.

"No, you'll be dead before you even touch him." Junsei said.

He unsheathed the Sword of Curses and quickly sliced the tree they were standing in. As Hawk jumped from it he dragged his sword through the ground in a circle, kicking up dust. Shikamaru realized what he was doing.

"Let's go! He's creating the dust as a diversion!"

They all left quickly and Junsei soon followed.

"They're getting away!" Karin yelled through the dust.

Hawk emerged from the cloud of dust and chased them. Junsei lagged behind, cutting down trees in an attempt to slow Hawk down.

"C'mon speed it up! We need to increase our distance from these guys!" Junsei yelled ahead.

Sasuke, irritated from dodging the falling trees, sped up to catch Junsei. The other members of Hawk began to fall behind, caught by the falling trees. Sasuke pressed on, his sharingan focused on Junsei and Naruto. Junsei turned to see only Sasuke coming up and caught up to Rock Lee, who was second to the last in the group.

"You guys go on ahead, I'll stay behind and deal with Sasuke."

"No, he's too strong to fight alone!" Naruto shouted.

"I don't plan to fight him, only stall him until you guys get far enough."

"What if he beats you?" Sakura asked.

"He won't, but I'm letting him get Naruto. GO!"

Junsei landed on a tree and stopped, turning back around to face Sasuke, who landed on a branch across the way.

"How noble of you to stay behind so they could escape, but it won't matter." Sasuke said.

"Yeah, I can still sense them." Karin said appearing along with Suigetsu and Jugo.

"Well then, I guess I should make sure I take my time." He said unsheathing the Sword of Seals.

Karin gasped.

"What's wrong?" Jugo asked.

"His chakra, it just rose dramatically, out of nowhere!"

Sasuke turned to look at the mocking smirk on Junsei's face.

"Let's do this." Suigetsu said charging along with Sasuke.

He blocked Suigetsu before quickly blocking Sasuke. Sasuke jumped over him to try and strike from behind but Junsei blocked his blow and turned around quickly to block Suigetsu.

_I need to hurry this up before they realize this sword is what's making me faster. _

He clashed swords with Suigetsu and jumped back as Sasuke was about to land a blow to his neck.

"Really, is that the best you could do?" He asked tauntingly.

"You guys go ahead and get Naruto, I'll handle him." Sasuke said.

The other three nodded in confirmation and went off. Sasuke charged his sword with a chidori current.

"I'll finish you off myself."

"Hmph. Come and try."

"So smug, but for how long?"

Sasuke leaped forward and locked swords with him, forming a small crater. Junsei chuckled as Sasuke gave a deceiving grin. He swung his sword with an increased might. Junsei blocked each blow, but the force was causing him to back up to keep his balance. Sasuke didn't stop, fiercely slashing away at him, trying to catch him sleeping. Junsei gave an angry grunt, and they locked swords. Junsei pushed Sasuke back, and ran up to him to give a mighty blow. Sasuke blocked it, but didn't anticipate all the power in that one swing. He slid back through the dirt, holding his ground. Junsei quickly struck upward, which Sasuke blocked but it sent him into the air, with Junsei right behind him. In the air Junsei delivered a series of strikes that increased with speed with every strike. His strikes also grew stronger, as he didn't want to leave Sasuke with an opening to attack him. He did a downward strike, knocking Sasuke towards the ground. Sasuke recovered in the air and landed, immediately jumping back as a giant circle sliced through the ground. Junsei landed in the middle, the piece of land sinking into the earth. The ground flew up as Junsei, his wings showing, locked swords with Sasuke. With a shove he sent Sasuke a few feet back, but he quickly recovered from this. He looked up to see Junsei flying towards him, his sword at the ready. He charged his sword to the pinnacle of its sharpness and they clashed swords, sending a wave of force out into the woods. They separated, with Sasuke on the ground and Junsei in a tree.

"What are you?"

Junsei didn't answer, only attacked him again. The battle began to go in his favor thanks to the advantage of his wings. Sasuke made distance between them, and turned on his mangekyo sharingan, looking straight into the eyes of Junsei. He moved as Junsei struck the spot he was just at.

"My sharingan didn't affect you?"

"It did, but I can feel your presence in this state. You can be invisible for all I care, I'll know where you are."

Sasuke frowned, for he had to admit this new transformation caught him off guard. Karin felt the new surge of power and stopped.

"Sasuke's in trouble!"she told the other two, and they backtracked back to the fight.

"Black wings...what are you some kind of fallen angel?"

"The only thing I am to you right now is your killer." Junsei said savagely.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Power of the Keeper**_  
Junsei gave a bloodcurdling yell as waves of energy visibly sailed out. His wings melted off as the muscles on his body began to physically form and show. The ground beneath him crackled as loose gravel rose into the air. Energy surged through him and physically showed by small streaks of lightning that sparked. Naruto and the others stopped, witnessing the visible burst of energy that darkened the sky for a minute.

"C'mon! I bet he needs help!" Sakura said.

They quickly leaped back towards the scene and Neji turned on his byakugan, completely stunned at what he saw.

"Neji, what's wrong?" Lee asked.

"That chakra was Junsei, only, this is his true chakra, no a power up."

Everyone looked at each other as they sped up.

Karin, Jugo and Suigetsu caught up to Sasuke and Junsei just as he finished his transformation. Their jaws dropped at the chakra levels he was on.

"This guy, his chakra feels like an explosion." Karin said.

"Yeah, you can actually see it." Suigetsu commented on the sparks that occasionally showed.

Sasuke stood up, shocked and alittle irritated that this guy only gets stronger.

"This another power-up for you?"

"No, this is the real thing. You see the men of my kind learn how to store half their chakra in a point in our body when we're five, only to be unleashed when we feel we need it most. I've been storing this for thirteen years….feels good to let it out! Now…where were we?" he asked smiling.

Suigetsu lunged for him. In the second when Suigetsu lunged Junsei had already blasted off the ground and punched him in the chest. He would've been knocked miles away had Junsei not grabbed his leg and slammed him into the ground with enough force to make him bounce six feet in the air. Junsei smashed him into the ground, he bounced back up, and he continued the same thing, getting lower and lower to the ground until he punched Suigetsu into a crater.  
Jugo was about to jump when Junsei appeared right behind him. He tripped him with his left leg, then used his right to knock him into the air. He managed to get into the air above Jugo and rained a flurry of blows upon him, pummeling him back to earth. With those interruptions out of the way he turned his attention towards Sasuke.

They stared at each other for a full minute before Sasuke realized he was standing right in front of him. Sasuke jumped back, but Junsei grabbed his foot and threw him into a tree. Sasuke recovered and quickly jumped up the tree as Junsei rammed the trunk, barely missing him. The tree fell over and Sasuke jumped to another. Junsei tackled him from behind and threw him into the air. From the air Sasuke powered up for his Chidori. Junsei saw this, and with a smile his fist crackled with energy. They both charged and clashed in the air, both powers canceling each other out despite the difference in power. Sasuke ended up higher in the air as Junsei hit the ground but got right back up with no hint of an injury.

Sasuke made a hand-seal and looked up into the sky, there were a couple of clouds overhead.

"Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"

He shot several fireballs into the sky, causing a cloud of smoke to fuse with the clouds overhead. As he landed on the ground, Junsei was still looking at the clouds overhead, wondering what he was trying to do. He looked back at Sasuke, a suspicious look in his eye.

"That seems like a strange way to waste a technique." he said.

Sasuke smirked,"Not in my eyes."

He made more hand-seals,"Fire style: Fireball Justsu!"

Fire spewed from his mouth and burned the trees as Junsei quickly dodged and moved around the fire. Working his way into a melee range he knocked Sasuke back into a dead tree. Sasuke rose, laughing.

"Did I miss a joke?"

Sasuke made a couple more hand-seals; he hadn't used this move since his fight with Itachi. Junsei then realized what was going on, and knew he was too late to stop it.

_Shit!_

"RUN!" He yelled to Naruto and the others.

Sasuke raised his hand into the air, one finger pointing up as lightning streaked across the sky. "Time for you to vanish." He said bringing his finger down. Lightning struck the ground causing a huge explosion that rocked the earth and uprooted the dead trees.

"JUNSEI!" Everyone yelled in unison.

Sasuke smiled to himself, it was the end. His eyes shot back open in horror. _No, it can't be!_

Standing there, sword above him, his wings surrounding him in a protective shield, was Junsei. His left arm and the left half of his body had burn marks on it. His mouth leaked blood at the corners alittle. He stood up, the sword still in his hands, his wings half covering him. Rain began to fall.

"How...did you survive that?" Sasuke asked shocked.

"This sword is unique in many ways. It's made mainly to protect and defend, as well as repel. If charged with enough chakra I can remain virtually untouchable, but that takes time. I'm lucky had enough to shield me this much. You surprised me, I never expected power like that from someone like you."

"You should never underestimate your opponent."

"True, you're not the only one who can call forth things from the clouds."

Sasuke looked up again and saw that the clouds were still there.

"I didn't charge the sword with enough chakra because I was secretly charging the sky. You remember when I was still staring up at the clouds when you landed right? I suspected you might be trying to prepare for some extraordinary move, so I started to prepare my own."

Junsei charged at Sasuke, who was now defenseless. He knocked him into the air, and when he was high enough, Junsei pushed his right hand out. The rain froze in the air, as did Sasuke. The wind had also stopped as everything was in a stand-still. The clouds began to change color; from black to grey, and finally a glowing white. Sasuke looked up at the bright clouds, he and everyone else wondering what was about to happen. Suddenly, white rays of light shot from the clouds right at him; however instead of hitting him they all began to circle around him. Junsei spread his hands and they all stopped, now white balls of light surrounding Sasuke. Junsei felt his strength slipping, this move was taking alot from him. He closed his hand and the orbs became rays again, sailed above Sasuke, then each one came crashing down on him, smashing him into the ground, his akatsuki jacket burned to a crisp. Sasuke tried to get up, but the bashing he just took left him with nothing but his head to move. Junsei moved weakly towards Sasuke, and held his sword at his throat. In his mind his morals clashed.

_I shouldn't kill him. But if he's left alive, this could happen again. What if he joins our enemies? What if he joins us? It's obvious he and Naruto know each other. But he's willing to kill him to get the demon inside, that's despicable. But if he joins us, he and his friends can be of great help to us. But they're treacherous, they can't be trusted. Yet the only way to know if you can really trust someone is to trust them..._

Junsei dropped his sword to the ground.

"What...are you...doing?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm letting you and your friend live. I know you four are ninja, and so our goals can be considered the same."

"What...goals?"

"Stopping a man who will waste no time in killing you all." Came a voice.

Everyone looked towards the source to see a man, his arms folded, a halberd resting on his back. He wore black clothing and had a piercing above his chin, right below his bottom lip. He resembled Junsei, only older, and more violent looking.

"Tensai! How did you find me?" Junsei asked.

Tensai looked around at the field of battle, the barren land that was once a forest. "Wasn't hard; you all made so much noise a blind and death drunk could've found you."

"What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see who it was devastating the land. I saw a bolt of lightning and thought someone was fighting the priest. I panicked when I saw the rays of light, I knew it had to be you, and I rushed over here." He looked at Sasuke,"I see you couldn't kill him? It's the laws of our people to kill dangerous enemies, if only to ensure that they won't bother you in the future."

"You and I both know that the rules of our people are faulty and wrong." Junsei said.

Tensai smiled,"Heh, I can see you've been using your times traveling to think things over. I see you've finally embraced your 'curse' as you called it." he referred to the black wings on his back.

Tensai looked at the half broken bodies of Jugo, Suigetsu and Sasuke.

"C'mon, and bring them too. If any patrols come this way, and believe me they will, these guys will be killed in their states. There's a village nearby we can take you guys too for food, shelter and medical supplies. They're like a secret anarchist village, so they don't support the religious views of the priest and his little armada. Now let's get going, we've wasted enough time talking."

Junsei moved to pick up Sasuke, then felt his conscious mind slip. Tensai quickly caught him before he fell to the ground and put him on his back.

"Get the others, we need to be quick."


End file.
